Category: Fertility Testing & Results

An antral follicle count (AFC) scan is an internal ultrasound that counts the small follicles in your ovaries. Each follicle contains an immature egg, so your count gives an indication of your ovarian reserve: roughly, how many eggs you have left. AFC naturally falls with age, so your result is most useful when it’s compared with what’s expected for your age. If you’re planning for the future, thinking about egg freezing, preparing for IVF or trying to understand your fertility, you may have been advised to have an AFC scan. This guide explains what the scan involves, when it’s done, what your result means and how it compares with an AMH blood test. Quick facts What is an antral follicle count (AFC)? An AFC ultrasound is a scan that counts your antral follicles. These are small, fluid-filled sacs in your ovaries, and each one contains an immature egg. Together, they reflect your ovarian reserve: roughly, how many eggs you have left. Your antral follicle count is the total number of these follicles across both ovaries. It gives doctors a direct, visual indication of your ovarian reserve. An AFC is usually done as part of a pelvic ultrasound scan. The same scan can also check your ovaries and womb for things that could affect your fertility or cause symptoms, such as cysts, fibroids or polyps. AFC is usually part of a wider fertility assessment, alongside blood tests such as AMH and sometimes FSH. Together, these help build a fuller picture of your ovarian reserve and anything else that could affect your fertility. What can’t an AFC scan tell you? AFC is a useful test, but it has limits: AFC doesn’t predict your natural fertility or your ability to get pregnant without medical support, but when it comes to assisted conception, it can help shape decisions around medication doses or eligibility for certain types of treatment (like NHS-funded IVF). That’s why your doctor will interpret your AFC alongside your other results and your medical history. Why have you been recommended for an antral follicle count (AFC) scan? You might be advised to have an AFC scan if you: Why do you need to do an AFC scan for IVF and egg freezing? AFC is one of the best tools for predicting how your ovaries will respond to fertility medication. Along with AMH, it helps your clinic: That’s why AFC is a routine part of IVF and egg freezing planning. The HFEA has more information on how egg numbers and age affect your chances. What AFC can’t do is predict whether treatment will work. Research shows AFC is much better at predicting how many eggs will be collected than whether you’ll get pregnant. Your age has a bigger effect on success, because egg quality is largely linked to age. AFC can also affect access to NHS-funded IVF. When is the best time to have an antral follicle count (AFC)  scan? If you have regular periods, an AFC is usually done early in your cycle, between days 2 and 7. At this point, the small follicles are all a similar size and easiest to count. Later in your cycle, a dominant follicle, a cyst or the corpus luteum (a temporary structure left behind after ovulation) can make the smaller follicles harder to see. You can still have an AFC at other points in your cycle, and it can still give useful information, but your result may be more difficualt to interpret. If your cycles are irregular, or you use hormonal contraception, the timing may be different. Read our guide to the best time to have an AFC scan. How is an antral follicle count (AFC) ultrasound done? An AFC scan is usually done transvaginally (internally), because this gives the clearest view of your ovaries. It’s only done with your consent. A transabdominal scan, over your tummy, may be used instead if you aren’t comfortable, however, it may affect the scan results as the ovaries are much harder to see on a transabdominal scan. The scan usually takes 10 to 20 minutes. Does an AFC scan hurt? Most people find it mildly uncomfortable rather than painful, a bit like having a smear test. If you feel uncomfortable at any point, tell the sonographer. They can pause or adjust what they’re doing. You can also ask for a chaperone. Let your sonographer know beforehand if you have pelvic pain, vaginismus or a history of trauma, or if you feel anxious about internal examinations. Tips to prepare for your AFC scan For more preparation tips, including what to wear and whether you’ll need a full bladder, read our guide to the best time to have an AFC scan. What can affect your antral follicle count (AFC)? Age. This is the biggest factor. You’re born with all the eggs you’ll ever have, and the number falls throughout your life. Estimates suggest you’re born with around 1 to 2 million eggs. That falls to a few hundred thousand by puberty, around 25,000 by your late 30s and around 1,000 by the average age of menopause. Your AFC reflects this decline. It usually falls gradually, then more quickly from your mid-30s. But there’s a lot of variation between people. Some women in their late 30s have counts similar to women in their 20s, while others see an earlier decline. That’s why your own result tells you more than your age alone. The timing of your scan. Early in your cycle, your ovaries contain a group of small follicles of similar size. As the cycle goes on, one follicle usually grows larger and becomes dominant, while the others stop growing. That’s why the number of visible follicles changes across your cycle, and why AFC is usually measured between days 2 and 7. Natural variation. Your count can vary a little from one cycle to the next, even when the scan is done on the same cycle day. Small changes like this are normal and don’t usually change how a fertility […]

Women can check their fertility with blood tests, a pelvic ultrasound scan and tests of the fallopian tubes. Blood, urine and saliva tests can be done at home, while scans and tubal tests need a clinic or hospital. No single test can tell you for certain whether you’ll get pregnant, but together they give a clear picture of your reproductive health. This guide explains how each test works, whether it hurts, how to get it and what your results mean. Quick facts How does female fertility work? To get pregnant naturally, four things need to work together. Fertility tests are designed to check each of them. Ovulation problems are one of the most common causes of difficulty getting pregnant, and they’re often linked to PMOS, thyroid problems or raised prolactin. Checked with: hormone blood tests, ovulation predictor tests and pelvic ultrasound scan. You need a supply of eggs. You’re born with all the eggs you’ll ever have. Your supply, known as your ovarian reserve, falls gradually over time and more quickly from your mid-30s, and egg quality declines too. That’s why age is the single biggest factor in female fertility. Checked with: an AMH blood test and an antral follicle count on a scan. Your general health plays a part too. Nutrition, sleep, stress, alcohol and smoking can all affect your fertility. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential for optimising reproductive function. When should you take a fertility test? // Why and when should you check your fertility? There’s no single right time to get a fertility test, and you don’t need to be trying to conceive. It’s worth testing whenever the answer would help you plan, make a decision or get the right support. With fertility rates falling and many people starting families later, more people are choosing to understand their fertility earlier. You might want a fertility test if: You don’t need to be trying to conceive to get a fertility test. Understanding your fertility now can give you peace of mind and help you plan. Before you start trying Many people wait a few months after trying to get pregnant before they think about a fertility test. Testing at the start of your journey means you begin from a place of knowledge instead. It can pick up anything worth addressing early. That gives you time to get treatment or make lifestyle changes that could support your fertility before you start trying. The Advanced Hormone and Fertility Test gives you that baseline. If you’re planning for the future If you’re thinking about delaying pregnancy until later in life, or you’re concerned about how your fertility will change with age, testing can help you understand where you stand today. An ovarian reserve test shows whether your egg supply is typical for your age. That can help you understand how long you may have to plan and review the options available to you, including whether egg or embryo freezing is worth considering. Egg quality tends to be better the younger you freeze, so it is worth thinkingabout this early. A Fertility Advisor Call can help you weigh up your options based on your results. If you’ve been trying for a while NHS guidance is to see your GP if you’re under 36 and haven’t conceived after a year of regular unprotected sex.  If you’re 36 or over, or you have a known reason for concern, go after six months. But you don’t have to wait that long to find out what’s going on. Testing sooner can pick up causes such as ovulation problems early, so you can get the right support and treatment sooner. That matters, because fertility declines with age. If you need to go further, Hertility can arrange a Pelvic Ultrasound Scan, tubal testing and a semen analysis for your partner. If you’ve had fertility difficulties before If you’ve struggled to conceive in the past or had recurrent miscarriages, testing can help find an underlying cause. That might be a hormone imbalance, a structural problem with your womb or Fallopian tubes, or a genetic factor. Fertility problems can also happen after you’ve already had a baby, even if you conceived easily the first time. This is known as secondary infertility, and it’s more common than many people realise. A Private Gynaecologist Consultation can look at your history in depth and recommend the right investigations. If you have symptoms or a health condition Irregular, very painful or very heavy periods can be a sign of a condition that affects fertility. They’re worth investigating whether or not you’re trying for a baby. A Hertility Advanced Hormone and Fertility Test can help you understand what’s driving your symptoms. If you have a condition that can affect fertility. This includes a diagnosis or history of PMOS (formerly known as PCOS), endometriosis, a thyroid disorder or a sexually transmitted infection. It also applies if you’ve had pelvic surgery or cancer treatment. Each of these can affect your hormones, ovaries, womb or Fallopian tubes, so it’s worth checking your fertility sooner rather than later. Fertility worries can feel overwhelming, whatever stage you’re at. Talking to people you trust, or to one of our counsellors, can help. What are the different types of fertility tests for women? Blood tests for female fertility  Blood tests are usually the first step in checking your fertility. They show whether you’re ovulating and how your reproductive hormones are working, and they can check other aspects of your health that matter before pregnancy. You can have them through your GP, at a clinic or at home with a finger-prick kit. AMH (anti-Müllerian hormone) AMH gives an indication of your ovarian reserve: roughly, how many eggs you have compared with others your age. It’s useful if you’re planning ahead, considering egg freezing or preparing for IVF, where it helps predict how your ovaries will respond to fertility medication. A high AMH can also be one sign of PMOS, but it can’t diagnose PMOS on its own. It reflects egg quantity, […]